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The SEIS project aims to provide training and education based on a strong foundational understanding of substance use disorders (SUD) to Physician Assistant and Clinical Psychology students from the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio (UTHSCSA), and students from the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), Clinical Mental Health Counseling Programs. The target populations include students from primarily Hispanic-serving institutions in San Antonio and Bexar County, a region marked by significant behavioral and mental health disparities, especially among active and retired military populations that call this area home. The project seeks to address the shortage of adequately trained SUD treatment providers in this area by integrating evidence-based training curricula into the respective academic institutions. SEIS focuses on developing an interprofessional training curriculum that equips students with the necessary competencies for SUD screening, intervention, treatment, and support recovery services (SBIRT). The curriculum will emphasize SBIRT strategies and trauma-informed approaches to promote behavioral health equity and the reduction of stigma associated with SUDs. By fostering partnerships among academic institutions, the project aims to increase the number of healthcare students prepared to address SUDs upon graduation and institutionalize SUD training within health professions programs. The program's primary goal is to increase the number of students, residents, faculty, and health professionals trained in SUD screening, assessment, and services to address the treatment gap experienced by individuals with SUD or engaging in risky substance use, particularly vulnerable populations. The objectives of the program include: 1) Introduce a minimum of 250 students to optimal strategies for screening and intervening in SUDs by integrating tailored curricula into three academic programs across two universities; 2) Support faculty development in delivering SUD education through at least three yearly workshops with a 90% attendance rate annually; 3) Enhance student knowledge in evidence-supported assessment and treatment of modalities for SUD, achieving a 20% proficiency increase on post-training assessments for each participant; and 4) Demonstrate an 80% satisfaction rate on the Interprofessional Education (IPE) assessment survey indicating successful achievement of interprofessional goals and effective collaboration across disciplines. Throughout the project's duration, the objectives will be evaluated at key points to ensure measurable outcomes. Annually, the project aims to serve at least 95 individuals annually, including educators and clinicians, who will utilize the training to enhance addictions education and positively impact clients struggling with SUDs. Over the three-year project period, approximately a total minimum of 275 trainees are expected to benefit from this initiative. SEIS aims to equip stakeholders with the necessary knowledge and skills to address SUD concerns in the Bexar County region, fostering a workforce that chooses to live and stay where they learn.

In 1995, Universidad Central del Caribe premiered its Graduate Program in Substance Abuse Counseling was initiated, offering a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Substance Abuse Counseling and the Master of Health Sciences in Substance Abuse Counseling. UCC is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) located in Bayamón that also created the first and only Fellowship in Addiction Medicine for primary care physicians in Puerto Rico. During the past couple of years, the mental and behavioral health of people living in Puerto Rico has experienced a dramatic decline. The dramatic rise of SUDs and OUDs in the Puerto Rican population will most likely continue to increase due to the shortage of adequately trained professionals that can collaborate in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment (MOUD/MAUD) of them. The purpose of the proposed UCC-PCSS-U Program is to train graduate-level medical students to effectively prevent, identify, diagnose and treat mental and behavioral health conditions, specifically substance use disorders (SUD) and opioid use disorders (OUD). The UCC-PCSS-U program has 3 main goals: (1) increasing the number of graduate-level medical students completing the theorical and clinical requirements for the Substance and Opioid Use Disorders in Medicine Immersion Program; (2) establishing a didactic and hands on experience in SUD/OUD prevention, MOUD, and recovery services framed in a long-term illness and recovery management model; (3) place graduate-level medical students in clinical rotation sites that provide robust mental health and SUD/OUD services in underserved community-based settings. Our proposed training program will integrate the Recommended Core Curriculum Topics for Substance Use Disorders in Early Academic Career Healthcare Education Programs as outlined on SAMHSA's Core Curriculum Elements on Substance Use. The UCC-PCSS-U program will impact medical students at UCC, who will participate in theoretical coursework and clinical rotations. After course completion, participants will demonstrate efficiency and efficacy in managing people with substance use disorders (SUD's) and Opioid Use Disorders (OUD's). This three-year program will help medical students to create awareness about the SUD/OUD, and the importance of the treatment process and services to the community. This is an efficient public health education-oriented plan that will allow us to serve our underserved communities. Our medical students will increase awareness of mental health and substance abuse treatment, thus reducing barriers and stigma to treatment and prevention in SUD/OUD. The Substance Opioid Use Disorders in Medicine Immersion Program clinical/theoretical framework will address SUD's/OUD's and how to manage them as complex chronic conditions, to avoid sequelae and premature death. This will be achieved by developing a training program that will merge the knowledge of an interdisciplinary team led by Board-Certified Addiction Medicine doctors, and composed of substance abuse counselors, clinical psychologists and other professionals. The proposed UCC-PCSS-U Program will enroll 180 participants in the three-year period (Y1:50; Y2:60; Y3:70). After the initial implementation of the UCC-PCSS-U, we will conduct additional regional trainings/workshops that will impact students from other institutions and professionals from diverse disciplines.

Howard University Provider's Clinical Support System (HU-PCSS) will implement a 3-year, systematic, stepwise approach to enhance education and training about substance use disorders (SUDs) and SUD treatment for all Howard University (HU) College of Medicine (HUCM) medical students; College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences (CNAHS) Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), and Physician Assistant (PA) students. HU-PCSS will also enhance training about SUDs and SUD treatment for HU dental, pharmacy, social work, and graduate clinical psychology students. HU’s historic mission focuses on teaching and training underrepresented students who go on to serve underserved and minoritized communities. HUCM graduates approximately 110 medical students each year; 76% identify as Black of African American, 8.7% as Hispanic, and 8% as Asian; 55% as female; and 19% are first generation college students. The PA program enrolls approximately 20 students each year; 66% of those providing information identify as Black, 10% as White, and 10% as Hispanic; and 75% as female. The MSN and DNP programs enroll approximately 10 students per year; 100% identify as Black; 90% as female. Languages spoken include English, Amharic, Igbo, Oromo, Spanish, and French. The proposed PCSS-HU will be led and implemented by the Project Director, Project Coordinator, and a cadre of faculty champions from diverse backgrounds and with expertise in Addiction Medicine, including faculty in HUCM’s departments of Community and Family Medicine and Psychiatry, CNAHS graduate nursing programs and PA program, College of Pharmacy, and School of Social Work. Graduate health professions students will gain experiential learning through clinical clerkships or placements in trauma-informed, recovery oriented clinical services in HU’s Addiction Medicine programs and partnering Federally Qualified Health Centers located in Health Professional Shortage Areas that treat underserved, minoritized populations experiencing extremely high overdose death rates and severe health and behavioral health disparities. Beginning in Year 1, PCSS-HU will 1) address currently identified gaps and train medical students, graduate nursing students, and PA students in Motivational Interviewing, SBIRT, and overdose prevention (overdose education and naloxone distribution); 2) ensure that all students participate during clinical clerkships in a minimum 8-hour training on opioid or other substance use disorder, guidelines for safe prescribing of opioids for pain, and management of pain; and 3) begin a systematic process of curriculum development to plan and implement a SUD curricular "thread" and SUD clinical placements that will be integrated throughout the preclinical and clinical curricula. In Year 2, PCSS-HU will pilot implementation of the SUD threads into preclinical courses, clinical clerkships, and electives, using a process of continuous implementation evaluation to inform modifications of the curriculum and training. In Year 3, PCSS-HU will continue both 1) the implementation of the SUD curriculum and clinical placements for all medical, MSN, DNP, and PA students and 2) the process of continuing evaluation and, as needed based on the evaluation, modification of the training provided. HU-PCSS will provide training about SUDs and SUD treatment to a minimum of 135 graduate health professions students each year and a minimum of 405 graduate health professions students over the 3-year grant period. Incorporating the SUD curriculum into the general curriculum for all graduate health professions students ensures sustainability of the training after the end of the grant period.

The Utah COLLABORATE (COLLectively Arranging and Bringing Optimized Recovery and Addiction Training and Education to the University of Utah) project aims to bolster interdisciplinary education on Substance Use Disorders (SUD) for healthcare professional students at the University of Utah, including medical students (MD), physician assistant/associate (PA) students, nurse practitioner (NP) students, and others. This initiative enjoys the support of the academic leadership across these three healthcare professional programs. In the COLLABORATE project, dedicated staff and planning groups will craft and integrate a comprehensive SUD curriculum into the academic programs of MD, NP, and PA students at the University of Utah. A core curriculum will be complemented by immersive clinical experiences within multidisciplinary teams, focusing on both specialty SUD care and primary care settings. These experiences will span various communities, including urban, rural, tribal, and underserved areas, encompassing Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) designated sites and Federally-Qualified Health Centers (FQHC’s). Additionally, students will have access to elective SUD-related activities as part of this enriched curriculum. The COLLABORATE initiative prioritizes early exposure to SUD training and clinical encounters for University of Utah's MD, NP, and PA students. This approach ensures that students gain fundamental skills in identifying, assessing, intervening, and treating addiction, while also learning how to support recovery and combat stigma. Although current curricula for University of Utah's MD, NP, and PA students include some SUD education, the COLLABORATE project will significantly expand and enrich their SUD training. Faculty, education leadership, and staff at the University of Utah will collaborate closely with students and Certified Peer Support Specialists (CPSS) to design and deliver practical, clinically relevant curricular components, training sessions, and experiences. These initiatives will promote a recovery management approach, grounded in trauma-informed care and stigma reduction, recognizing SUDs as long-term illnesses. CPSS will play integral roles within the Curriculum Development Group, aiding in both curriculum design and delivery, serving on the project Advisory Board, providing support in clinical settings, and guiding students to community resources. COLLABORATE aims to increase the number of Utah healthcare professional students and future prescribers equipped to address the needs of individuals at risk for or living with SUD. Over a span of three years, an estimated 285 individuals annually, or a total of 855 individuals, will benefit from this enhanced SUD education. The majority (82%) of these individuals will comprise University of Utah's MD, NP, or PA students, many of whom will transition into clinical practice following their training. While primarily targeted at these students, some COLLABORATE training sessions will be open to other healthcare professionals, students, and participants of the University of Utah Project ECHO. All newly developed curricular materials will be made available online at no cost, extending the reach of COLLABORATE far beyond the confines of the University of Utah's MD, PA, and NP programs. This dissemination of resources will enhance SUD education for a broader audience of healthcare professionals, students, and community members, ultimately improving access to SUD screening, assessments, and services nationwide.

Educating students early in their professional coursework will increase confidence and decrease stigma associated with treating patients with substance use disorder (SUD). An interdisciplinary cohort of Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) (nurse practitioner), Public Health, and Counseling students will observe and engage with SUD community experts to learn foundational best practice protocols and methods for SUD assessment and treatment.  Interventions include implementation of the SAMHSA 12 SUD modules, interdisciplinary work among the healthcare students, synchronous and asynchronous work with our students, community partners and subject matter experts. Further interventions include creation of a Community Advisory Committee for ongoing and real time feedback to allow for appropriate content and activity adjustment. Equally important will be implementation of direct clinical observation time for our students within the community organizations, especially those that treat rural and culturally diverse populations, allowing for direct learning of curricular content. Specifically, our goals include: ·       Training students early in their academic careers o   Provide evidence-based substance use prevention training o   Demonstrate increased confidence levels (assess, diagnose, treat) ·       Teach students that SUD is like any chronic disease, thereby reducing stigma/discrimination o   Teach Motivational interviewing o   Complete 3 interdisciplinary activities and clinical observation ·       Increase access to SUD screening, assessment, and services o   Provide SUD assessment and treatment CE/CME opportunities o   Establish a sustainability plan so that the SUD curriculum becomes permanent o   Recruit additional community clinic sites It is expected that 106 students will complete the curriculum in Year 1 with 52 students in subsequent years for a total of 210 students over the 3-year project timeline. The number of students may increase due to establishing partnerships with the Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine, Idaho State University Family Medicine Residency and the addition of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthesia students beginning in Year 2. Trained health professionals will have a profound impact on SUD treatment in Idaho and the United States.

The University of California, Riverside School of Medicine (UCR SOM) is implementing the Promoting Access to Treatment and Health Equity (PATH) for Substance Use Care curriculum to address the needs of a healthcare shortage area, Inland Southern California (ISC) region. This innovative curriculum focuses on training 720 individuals, including medical students, trainees, and faculty, early and consistently in substance use disorder (SUD) care competencies over 3 years, integrating SUD education into the general medical school curriculum. The curriculum, is aligned with the UCR SOM Health Equity, Social Justice, & Anti-Racism (HESJAR) Thread, and aims to develop students' abilities to address biases, and social determinant impact on health outcomes, and advocate for high-quality patient care for all communities. The PATH curriculum includes goals to build medical student and faculty competencies in treating SUD as a disease like any other chronic condition, increase access to evidence-based SUD screening and services, and leverage regional healthcare partnerships to educate and retain a diverse physician workforce. In addition, the Longitudinal Ambulatory Care Experience (LACE) program, at UCR SOM, provides students with hands-on clinical experiences and mentor-mentee relationships with primary care providers in the region, emphasizing the importance of comprehensive care. By partnering with practice groups, community clinics, and healthcare organizations in the ISC, such as Kaiser Permanente, Riverside University Health Services, and others, UCR SOM is well-positioned to expand training in behavioral science and SUD care. Measurable curriculum objectives using the Kirkpatrick model for evaluation, include assessing students' knowledge of the neurobiological basis, social, humanistic and behavioral factors of recovery, and medication assisted treatment of SUD, to ensure the effectiveness of the educational initiatives for medical students in all cohorts. This proposal outlines a holistic and data-driven approach to addressing SUD and healthcare disparities in the ISC region, emphasizing the importance of early and progressive education, hands-on clinical experiences, and strategic partnerships to improve access to quality care for diverse populations.

Title - Bridging Gaps: PA Training for Substance Use Disorder in Underserved Regions Abstract Project summary: Northern Arizona University (NAU) Physician Assistant (PA) Program will implement a comprehensive education and training program for students enrolled in the NAU PA Program, and interdisciplinary learners in the state of Arizona to increase their capacity and confidence to deliver evidence-based care for people with SUD, with a focus on rural and underserved communities. Abstract: The mission of the NAU PA Program is to educate individuals from inclusive backgrounds and lived experiences and graduate PAs who provide high quality, compassionate medical care to the people of Arizona. In the Class of 2023, 80% were from Arizona, 36% grew up in rural communities, and 34% identified as underrepresented minority. Students complete their clinical training in Arizona, with the majority spending over 50% of their training in rural and underserved communities. In Arizona, 25% of the population resides in rural areas and almost 40% of the population lives in a shortage area. Arizona meets only 8.5% of the mental health needs of the population. In this project, we will partner with clinical training sites to train PA students in the assessment and management of people with SUD, and with health professions programs to implement Project ECHO©, an evidence-based model to improve care for people with SUD. Project goals: 1) Improve the capacity of the current and future interdisciplinary healthcare workforce in the screening, assessment, and management of people with SUD through Project ECHO©, by delivering a chronic illness and recovery management-focused curriculum. 2) Increase the number of PA students trained in the screening, assessment, and management of people with SUD through direct clinical training experiences in mental health and SUD, in predominantly rural and underserved communities. 3) Improve dissemination of evidence-based practices in the screening, assessment, and management of people with SUD by providing other health professions training programs with a guide to recreate this program at their own institution. Summary objectives: By the end of year one: 1) >75% of NAU PA students (n=20; 33%) will complete the SUD clinical training program in mental health (MH) shortage areas. 2) We will deliver Project ECHO©, an evidence-based curriculum on the screening and management of SUD to 300 new interdisciplinary participants. 3) >75% of NAU PA students in the SUD clinical training program will receive >80% on their end-of-rotation examination. 4) >80% of Project ECHO© interdisciplinary participants will report feeling confident/very confident in treating people with SUD on the participant survey. By the end of year two: 1) >75% of NAU PA students (n=45; 75%) will complete the SUD clinical training program in mental health (MH) shortage areas. 2) We will deliver Project ECHO©, an evidence-based curriculum on the screening and management of SUD to 300 new interdisciplinary participants. 3) >75% of Project ECHO© interdisciplinary participants will report an increase the number of SUD people treated within their practice on the participant survey. 4) >75% of NAU PA students in the SUD clinical training program will receive >80% on their end-of-rotation examination. By the end of year three: 1) >75% of NAU PA students (n=60; 100%) will complete the SUD clinical training program in mental health (MH) shortage areas. 2) We will disseminate a replication tool for medical and health professions programs. 3) By the end of the three-year project, Project ECHO© will train 900 interdisciplinary learners, and 305 PA students will receive MH/SUD clinical training for a total of 1,205 program participants.

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine (RVSOM) proposes the creation and implementation of a comprehensive Osteopathic Provider Clinical Support System curriculum that will train students about substance use disorder treatment early in their medical school career through both didactic and clinical training opportunities. The ultimate goal of this project will be to reduce stigma and increase access to SUD screenings, assessments, and services within the southern New Jersey region, with a particular emphasis on prescribing medications for alcohol and opiate use disorders. The population of focus for this project will be medical students at RVSOM. The geographic catchment area of this project will include the two medical school campuses of RVSOM, located in the Camden and Gloucester counties of New Jersey. In addition to providing didactic training at RVSOM locations, our project will provide training placements and reach regional health system locations in Atlantic, Camden, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem counties. There is a significant need for future physicians in our region to be educated on best practices for SUD treatment, stigma reduction, and equitable access to SUD care. The four South Jersey counties in our geographic catchment area for this project have among the highest rates of drug overdose deaths in the state, with Atlantic, Salem, Camden, Cumberland, and Gloucester counties ranked #1, #3, #4, #5, and #6 for drug overdose deaths per 100,000 in New Jersey.1 Over 85% of RVSOM students are residents of New Jersey and over 50% practice in the state after graduation. Over 80% of these students go on to practice in either family medicine or another primary care specialty. As a result, there is a high probability that RVSOM students will encounter a patient with a substance use problem as part of their primary care practice after graduation. Increasing the number of osteopathic physicians trained by RVSOM to identify and treat patients with substance use disorders during primary care visits using the proposed curriculum will help to address the treatment gap in New Jersey and improve outcomes throughout our region. The goals of this project are to 1) Develop an Osteopathic Provider Clinical Support System curriculum to introduce osteopathic medical students and other health professions students to SUD treatment principles using a long-term illness and recovery management model, 2) Create Osteopathic Provider Clinical Support System curricular materials and develop strategies to increase reach and accessibility, and 3) Implement the Osteopathic Provider Clinical Support System curriculum among all medical students at Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine, and expand the reach of the program by making materials available to additional osteopathic medical schools, other health professions students, and professionals in regional healthcare systems. The Osteopathic Provider Clinical Support System curriculum developed by our program will consist of four two-hour webinars to be completed by all third-year medical students at RVSOM. Each webinar will include pre- and post-test assessments to determine the effectiveness of the curriculum. 1 University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2024. www.countyhealthrankings.org.

Project Trauma-Informed Nursing Education for Substance Use (TINES) aims to improve substance use disorder (SUD) identification and treatment in rural health professional shortage areas across Delaware, southern New Jersey, and medically underserved communities in Philadelphia. The lack of culturally competent and evidence-based SUD treatment has contributed to rising illicit substance-related morbidity and mortality in these regions. By enhancing the education and training of future nurse practitioners, including women’s health providers, Project TINES seeks to increase access to SUD treatment, recognizing that many patients rely on nurse practitioners in primary care and mental health settings for SUD care delivery. Project TINES will achieve its objectives by expanding and enhancing didactic and clinical education, ensuring that graduates are equipped to identify, assess, intervene, and treat patients with substance use issues while supporting long-term recovery. Project TINES activities will be conducted in collaboration with the community of those with lived substance use experience through the use of a community advisory board, comprised of individuals in active OUD recovery, integrated into our Steering Committee, and a peer recovery specialist as key personnel. The primary goals of TINES are to: 1) develop a Trauma-Informed Substance Use Disorder (TI-SUD) Core Curriculum, increase the number of clinical sites for nurse practitioner student training, enhance clinical site capacity, and support health systems and agencies providing SUD treatment. Project TINES will provide the necessary education, training, and technical assistance to affiliated clinical sites to support ongoing student education within and beyond the project scope.

The University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine (UNR Med) seeks to increase the number of Nevada healthcare professionals who can address the needs of persons at risk or with substance use disorder (SUD). This effort launches core SUD graduate health professional curricula in medical, physician assistant, and nursing programs to advance workforce shortages and access to care. UNR will also launch similar strategies and continuing education across all public health programs designed to train health practitioners with the knowledge and competencies to recognize risk factors, diagnose, refer and/or treat those with SUD. UNR Med's SUD Curriculum Infusion Program (CIP) integrates SUD content while increasing inter-professional collaborations. This practice uses the recovery management model to treat SUD as any other chronic illness. This CIP partnership includes the UNR Med, Orvis School of Nursing, School of Public Health which includes the Center for Application of Substance Abuse Technologies (CASAT), and the Renown - Stacie Mathewson Behavioral Health and Addiction Institute. UNR Med’s CIP platform builds on the core curriculum elements of SUD through sustainable education, to include prevention, addressing stigma, multi-cultural delivery of care, harm reduction, trauma-informed care, shared decision making, looking at SUD through the lens of chronic illness, and treatment options such as MOUD or MAUD. As a recovery centered model, cultural humility training will be included to decrease disparities and access to care by marginalized communities. These activities will be implemented through the process of curriculum infusion which will integrate information about substance use and evidence-based treatment approaches into existing curricula in pre-service, higher education settings, and continuing education/clinical in-service settings. UNR Med’s goal is to address the shortage of behavioral health providers in mental health shortage areas by ensuring the graduates from the school of medicine, physician assistant, nursing or other health professionals possess the knowledge, skills, and values necessary to provide person-first, compassionate, comprehensive, evidence-based care for persons with substance use disorders.

ECU-AMMPeD: Amplifying Medical, Midwifery, Nurse Practitioner, and Dental education aims to reduce health disparities and improve substance use disorder (SUD) outcomes in Eastern North Carolina by improving access to equitable, evidence-based SUD treatment through implementation of a comprehensive and sustainable academic and regional education program. Eastern North Carolina is a 41-county rural, ethnically diverse, economically distressed, medically underserved region that has been disproportionately impacted by the SUD crisis. ECU-AMMPeD's population of focus is medical, dental, nurse midwife, and nurse practitioner students and regional providers of the same disciplines. Project goals and measurable objectives include 1) increasing the supply of healthcare professionals educated at ECU who can identify and treat SUDs in mainstream healthcare upon graduation by implementing SAMHSA-aligned SUD curricula; 2) increasing the supply of virtual and in-person training sites for students by developing virtual opportunities and relationships with SUD treatment sites in health professions shortage areas; 3) decreasing inequities in SUD treatment access and delivery by providing targeted equity training to students and regional trainees; 4) increasing regional SUD treatment capacity by providing training opportunities to regional providers and sharing material developed with other programs and universities; and 5) insuring sustainability through activities to promote university and community buy-in. ECU-AMMPeD is innovative in its inclusion of medical, dental, certified nurse midwife, and nurse practitioner students. Over 200 student trainees will be served annually (years 1-3), and at least 70 additional regional trainees will be served in years 2 and 3. The ECU-AMMPeD team includes nurse practitioner and dental content experts and a physician board-certified in Addiction Medicine. Together, the team will develop SAMHSA Core Curricular Elements on Substance Use Disorder for Early Academic Career aligned curricula for each discipline and infuse it into the program's general curriculum, with an emphasis on early infusion. Education strategies will include virtual module delivery, in-person lectures, service learning, virtual case studies, clinical shadowing and precepted experiences, and interprofessional education. Five healthcare organizations providing SUD care in health professionals shortage areas have provided Letters of Commitment to offer students real-life clinical learning opportunities. In year 2, regional providers will be offered training and education opportunities. Content will be shared with other ECU programs and other universities to promote SUD content inclusion in their curricula. ECU produces a significant portion of North Carolina's physician, dental, nurse practitioner, and nurse midwife workforce. We are in critical need of SAMHSA funds to support developing the capacity of providers in this region to deliver equitable, stigma-free, evidence-based SUD care.

The UCSF TEACH-SUD curriculum represents an important leap forward in interprofessional (IP) substance use disorder (SUD) education and training that meets a critical unmet need to graduate competent clinicians knowledgeable and confident to prevent, assess, diagnose, and treat SUD. A steering committee comprised of diverse members from the UCSF Schools of Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy, community-based organization focused on SUD and harm reduction services in San Francisco (SF), and consultants with deep experience creating IP graduate simulation and in-person curricula will lead the development of a didactic and clinical curriculum that trains over 1500 medical students, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists over 3 years to provide compassionate, evidence-based, and recovery-oriented care in diverse locations across the Bay Area and surrounding rural counties in Northern and Central California. The TEACH-SUD curriculum will empower diverse learners with the needed foundational didactic content, clinical experiences, and mentors to address the SUD crisis in California’s urban and rural hot spots. The TEACH-SUD program development will follow the transformational education model for curriculum design to consider the larger ecosystem (specific, high need geographic areas of SF, rural Northern and Central California) and the needs of the learners, faculty, and community. Following the tenets in SAMHSA’s April 2024 “Core Curriculum Elements on SUD for Early Academic Career Medical and Health Professions Education Programs” statement, the steering committee will first review and collate ideal competencies for UCSF health professions schools and map where in each curriculum these are taught. After identifying strengths, gaps, and opportunities in IP schools’ curricula, at the end of Year 1(Y1) and beginning of Year 2 (Y2), the team will confirm the educational strategies to cover missing competency-based SUD content, grounded in strength-based, trauma-informed, and evidence-based practice. This foundational didactic material will have live, synchronous and distance learning options and be supplemented with experiential experiences. The end of Y1 and start of Y2 will include the creation and implementation of a simulation SUD experience for all 3 health professions schools. Core clinical rotations with the new committed community partners will be confirmed in the middle of Y1 to enhance the learning that occurs in the high-fidelity simulation experiences, with elective experiential learning opportunities developed in Y2 for students interested in advanced training in SUD care. Each clinical member of the steering committee brings established community clinical connections, such as the largest Opiate Treatment Outpatient Program in SF, community-based organizations for harm reduction services, and FQHC sites spread throughout Northern and Central California, creating rich opportunities for core and elective rotations tailored to student and community needs. The TEACH-SUD key personnel and steering committee members will collaboratively develop IP and evidence-based SUD curricula to optimize preparation for subsequent clinical simulation and site experiences. Curricula will include remote, in-person, simulated, and media-enriched education from a diverse group of fellows, faculty, and community preceptors interspersed with near peer teaching experiences. TEACH-SUD will leverage existing faculty experience with IP SUD training, rural health, distance learning, and technical assistance to catalyze lasting SUD education changes while growing resources through a hybrid sustainability model driven by organizational and cultural integration.

The Physician Assistant Program at Bay Path University will develop a comprehensive didactic and clinical curriculum in substance use disorder (SUD), in collaboration with SUD experts and leveraging faculty expertise and clinical partnerships, that will engage 210 PA trainees over 3 years. Interprofessional development and training delivered to students in other health professions programs and local healthcare providers will disseminate best practices in treating SUD. Key components of the project, titled “PArt of the Solution: Equipping PA Students with Best Practices in the Treatment of SUD” include refinement of the first-year didactic curriculum to align with SAMHSA recommendations for SUD education, ensuring that 60 PA students each year (180 students over 3 years) become adept at strategies for SUD identification, assessment, intervention, and treatment, while combating stigma and supporting pathways to recovery. The project will expand opportunities for second-year clinical rotations at SUD treatment facilities to hone clinical skills, focusing on urban and rural communities designated as a Mental Health HPSA in western Massachusetts and north-central Connecticut. The project will fund these clinical rotations for 30 students over 3 years (10 students/year) for a total of 210 PA students served by the project. To expand its impact, the project will also collaborate with other academic institutions and healthcare partners across various clinical settings to deliver interprofessional development and training in SUD to practicing healthcare professionals and students in other healthcare professions programs in the region. The PArt of the Solution project will strengthen Bay Path University’s capacity to help mitigate shortages in healthcare professionals who are trained in the management of SUD. By elevating training standards and fostering interdisciplinary cooperation, the project aims to promote the use of evidence-based best practices within the PA profession and cultivate a proficient healthcare workforce capable of addressing the multifaceted challenges faced by individuals struggling with substance use disorder.

CADCA is pleased to support SAMHSA’s work by providing training and technical assistance to state and community prevention leaders, including members of anti-drug community coalitions from around the country who are committed to addressing the evolving needs of the behavioral health field. Through this grant, CADCA will support and expand SAMHSA’s scope and capacity; provide training and technical assistance to state and community prevention leaders, including members of anti-drug community coalitions from around the country who are committed to addressing the evolving needs of the behavioral health field. The training and workforce development activities supported through this grant include SAMHSA’s Prevention Day and SAMHSA’s participation in the annual National Leadership Forum and annual Mid-Year Training Institute of CADCA. In addition, this funding will support Developing Youth Leaders across the three conferences/events listed above. Providing learning opportunities to youth and creating opportunities for engagement with community coalitions; receiving prevention training and leadership training, and other opportunities aimed at preparing youth for a future career in substance abuse prevention and community coalition leadership.

Substance Use Disorder Training Expansion to Advance Multidisciplinary Services in Iowa (SUD-TEAMS-IA) The University of Iowa Addiction and Recovery Collaborative (UI ARC) within the Department of Psychiatry proposes the SUD-TEAMS-IA project to create, implement, and study an expanded SUD curriculum for various healthcare starting in September 2024, including clinical experiences in healthcare provider shortage areas (HPSA). The funds for this project will provide salary support for current UI ARC staff with expertise in clinical care, education, and evaluation. The goal is to increase the competency of healthcare graduates in the care of people with substance use disorders (SUDs) and improve the treatment of SUDs throughout Iowa. Partnerships will be formed with the UI College of Nursing, UI College of Pharmacy, St. Ambrose and University of Dubuque Physician Assistant Training Programs, and Drake College of Pharmacy. Training will be provided to over 500 healthcare students over the lifetime of the project, targeting around 100-300 students each year for three years. In addition, the project will train 15 local champions in the delivery of SUD curriculum to ensure sustainability of the project. The project goals will be achieved by accomplishing the following objectives:? • Implement a longitudinal, sustainable SUD curriculum in nursing, PA, and pharmacy training programs across Iowa beginning July 2025. The curriculum’s effectiveness will be evaluated by changes in knowledge, skills, and attitudes of participants and satisfaction surveys. By completion of the grant project, UI ARC will have created a SAMHSA-approved SUD curriculum appropriate for all healthcare students, especially those serving in HPSA. • Train local champions in the delivery of the SUD curriculum to ensure sustainability of the curriculum after project completion. • All participating students will have the opportunity to participate in experiential learning rotations hosted by community-based SUD treatment programs in HPSA. Current partners in these rotations include UCS Healthcare, UI ARC, Area Substance Abuse Council (ASAC), and Prairie Ridge Integrated Behavioral Health. The project will create a research database to inform the effectiveness of the curriculum expansion to various healthcare students and their faculty, including the number of graduates who end up retaining employment in Iowa. This research database and the partnerships formed between the UI ARC, other Iowa training institutions, and community SUD treatment programs will ensure sustainability of the curriculum past project completion.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is applying for the Treatment for Individuals Experiencing Homelessness project to improve care for people experiencing homelessness with complex behavioral health needs. MDH's project focuses on Minneapolis, Saint Paul, and Duluth, which account for two-thirds of all people experiencing homelessness in Minnesota. This project has the advantage of providing services in locations where the focus population is already seeking help. In many cases, these individuals are frequent users of health care services, but struggle to receive appropriate care, stable housing, and services. These individuals have often been banned from local shelters and housing programs and spend much of their time at downtown emergency departments or health clinics as a shelter of last resort. In the Twin Cities, MDH will partner with the Hennepin Healthcare Emergency Department and the Minnesota Community Care Downtown Clinic. These are fast-paced, high-volume settings where deep engagement and relationship-building is difficult. The lack of successful engagement leaves individuals in a cycle of homelessness and poor health, contributes to a crisis in patient flow, and causes moral injury to healthcare staff, exacerbating burn-out and worker shortages. TIEH funding will allow these organizations to hire Care Coordinators: licensed social workers who can engage with the focus population and connect them to a system of care. In Duluth, the TIEH project will allow the region's largest community mental health provider (Human Development Center) and its largest shelter (Chum) to establish a mobile medical team led by a registered nurse and community health worker. These staff would conduct outreach at the shelter and warming center, the library, free meal programs, the skywalks, an encampments. They will engage people while addressing their immediate concerns (e.g., wound-care, frostbite, shelter) and connect them to mental health and substance use services, housing assistance and benefit programs. Our project director and evaluator will work with partners on adherence to evidence-based practices including trauma-informed care, intensive case management, warm hand-offs, and harm reduction. Each of our partners works closely with their local homeless Continuum of Care and will be able to conduct coordinated entry assessments and make and monitor referrals to available housing program. MDH is also working with the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency and the Minnesota Department of Human Services on connections to the housing assistance programs including the state's Housing Stabilization Services Medicaid benefit. We estimate that this project will serve approximately 4,000 individuals over the five-year grant period. We will measure our success based on 1) the percent of people experiencing homelessness with complex behavioral health needs in the catchment area who enroll in TIEH or a comparable program 2) the percent of TIEH participants who self-report an improvement in their mental health from baseline data collection to 6-month follow-up to discharge based on SAMHSA's Client-Level Outcome data and 3) An increase in the number of TIEH participants who report having a safe place to live from baseline data collection to 6-month follow-up to discharge based on SAMHSA's Client-Level Outcome data.

The M3 Team is an evidence-based, patient-centered, integrated care delivery model providing comprehensive, coordinated, and community-based services for adults in Austin, Travis County, Texas who are chronically homeless and have a chronic medical condition, serious mental illness, and a substance use disorder. The M3 Team is a collaborative effort between The University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School (DMS), CommUnityCare Federally Qualified Health Centers (CUC), and Integral Care (IC), Austin, Travis County’s Local Mental Health Authority. Those experiencing homelessness in Austin who suffer from “tri-morbid” chronical medical conditions, serious mental illness, and substance use disorders are some of the most vulnerable and underserved members of our community. Most efforts in our catchment area are not meeting this population’s needs because they are intermittent and uncoordinated, lacking integration between primary care, behavioral health care, and housing. The M3 Team, funded by SAMHSA from 2018 – 2023, has started to fill this gap and compared to baseline, clients enrolled on the M3 Team have significant improvements in mental health symptoms at 24 months and reductions in substance use at 6 months; >50% reductions in all emergency department visits as well as emergency department visits for mental health crises specifically; and robust increases in enrollment into medical coverage, SNAP benefits, eligible disability benefits, and >50% navigation and placement into sustainable permanent housing. The M3 Team will leverage existing assertive outreach teams from CUC, IC, and community partners, and fits into the broader continuum of care for individuals experiencing homelessness in Austin, Travis County, Texas. The M3 Team utilizes the evidence-based practices of integrated dual disorder treatment (IDDT), trauma-informed care, and housing first. The M3 Team provides outreach, behavioral health screening, mental health services, substance use treatment, recovery support services, peer support services, primary medical care services, intensive case management, housing navigation and placement, and connection to health coverage and insurance (e.g., MAP, Medicaid), training and supported employment, transportation, and mainstream benefits (e.g., SSI/SSDI, SOAR, SNAP). From 2023 – 2028, the M3 Team plans to serve 140 clients (60 in Year 1 and 20 each in Years 2 – 5). For clients enrolled on the M3 Team, our goals are to 1) decrease substance use, 2) improve mental health, 3) increase access to primary care services and improve physical health, 4) increase enrollment in social programs, and 5) increase placement and maintenance in sustainable permanent housing. We will proactively address racial behavioral health disparities in the implementation and evaluation of the M3 Team and will conduct a robust evaluation, using validated measures, patient-reported outcomes, and integrated local data sources, to measure progress towards our goals, drive improvement in addressing racial behavioral health disparities, and informing ongoing quality improvement.

Pinellas County, FL is seeking to increase capacity of services, including case management, recovery support services, evidence based mental health and substance use treatment services, and/or housing navigation to 320 individuals over the five-year grant period who have, or are currently, or at-risk of experiencing homelessness, and have serious mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, and/or co-occurring disorder (COD). The County will partner with three (3) organizations including a homeless emergency shelter and behavioral health treatment providers. These providers offer vast experience engaging with individuals experiencing homelessness, connecting individuals to treatment, and assisting clients' entry to housing including permanent supportive housing. Project Name: Pinellas County - Treatment for Individuals Experiencing Homelessness Population Served: The population of focus is primarily male/female adults who are or have experienced homelessness in Pinellas County, Florida, who have a serious mental illness (SMI), serious emotional disturbance (SED), and/or co-occurring disorder (COD). The County is seeking to focus on the population entering the County's largest jail diversion emergency homeless shelter, Pinellas Safe Harbor. The homeless population suffers a variety of ailment and health risks at rates consistently higher, and in some cases dramatically higher, than the housed. Homelessness and Health: What is the Connection Fact Sheet, published by the National Health Care for the Homeless Council in February 2019, showed homeless individuals had depression (49% vs 8%), and substance use disorder (58% vs 16%) when compared to their housed counterparts. The Point in Time study for Pinellas County showed 18.3% of the respondents reported a substance use disorder, and 23% reported having a serious mental health issue. Pinellas Safe Harbor serves on average, 1,385 unique individuals quarterly where 28% self-report having mental illness as a primary need and 14.5% self-report having both alcohol and drug use as a primary need. Project Goals/Measurable Objectives: Goal: Individuals experiencing homelessness are on a path to secure housing, coordinated behavioral health services and to improve their engagement and connection to wraparound services. Pinellas County's objectives are to 1) Reduce the caseload ratio of existing case managers through the hiring of additional staff; 2) Increase the average % of placements into permanent housing; 3) Reduce the # of emergency incidents through connections to medical and behavioral healthcare; and 4) Engage and connect clients to enrollment resources for health insurance, Medicaid/Medicare, and/or mainstream benefits. The County anticipates serving and avg. of 64 clients/year or 320 over the lifetime of the grant. Strategies/Interventions: The TIEH Program will utilize the following evidence-based practices to meet the Program's Goals and Objectives: Critical Time Intervention, Trauma-Informed Care, Stages of Change, Seeking Safety, Motivational Interviewing, and Supportive Housing.

Abstract The Health Services Center, Inc. (HSC) is a non-profit 501(c)3 AIDS Services Organization that has provided substance use disorder (SUD), mental health (MH), housing, and HIV services in a underserved area of northeast Alabama at the epicenter of the opioid epidemic for over 25 years. In the proposed HOME 2 Program, HSC will expand and enhance SUD, MH, peer recovery services, risk reduction services, telehealth, and housing case management (CM) for persons living with homelessness. Annually, the program will provide 75 initial SUD, MH, and housing status screenings through community marketing and will serve a minimum of 50 persons annually through an evidence-based intensive outpatient (IOP) SUD/MH treatment and individual MH, and CM services (250 over the course of the project). The HOME 2 Program will increase access to care in an impoverished and under-resourced 14-county rural/non-urban area of northeast Alabama. The HOME 2 Program will address these issues in several ways. First, HSC will build on partnerships with the community and local providers/stakeholders to increase marketing and availability of services. Second, HSC will provide SUD/MH and housing screenings. Third, HSC will provide enrollees with evidence-based models of treatment, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Peer Services, and telehealth. These EBPs have strong research support in decreasing substance use and mental health symptoms and increasing housing and employment among dually diagnosed persons experiencing homelessness. Fourth, HSC will provide long-term aftercare for enrollees, including MH, CM, and SUD services. Fifth, the HOME 2 Program will increase access to overdose prevention services (fentanyl testing strips, naloxone kits) and education. Finally, the HOME 2 Program will host an annual regional conference focused on SUD/SMI and homelessness issues. Measurable outcomes include decreased substance use and mental health symptoms, increased housing stability, employment, social connectedness, and access to and retention in treatment. The highly experienced project staff has been providing similar services to the target population for over 20 years. The HOME 2 Project will expand and enhance these successes. HSC is accredited by the State of Alabama for provision of behavioral health treatment. A thorough performance assessment, including both local and SAMHSA-requested performance measures, is proposed.

Allegheny County Department of Human Services (ACDHS) seeks to enhance its effectiveness and quality of services for adult individuals experiencing homelessness who have a cooccurring disorder (COD). The primary goal of this program is to improve housing stability and wellbeing of adults experiencing homelessness who have COD. This will be achieved by providing person-centered, trauma-informed, culturally sensitive and recovery-oriented service coordination in a low barrier, facility based Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) program. Key objectives of the program will be to stably house at least 40 individuals with COD by the end of the grant term, reduce accidental overdose deaths among PSH participants, increase SUD treatment engagement among service participants, and improve wellbeing of participants across individually identified wellness indicators pertaining to mental illness and substance use. The program will house and serve 20 individuals at a time and is expected to serve 40 unduplicated individuals over the full grant term.

CPNJ’s Treatment for Individuals Experiencing Homelessness (TIEH) will provide comprehensive case management and clinical services to individuals, including youth and families with serious mental illness (SMI), serious emotional disturbances (SED), or co-occurring disorder (COD) who are homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness. CPNJ will provide services in Bergen County, and the population of focus will be individuals 18 years and older with SMI, SED, and/or COD who are homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness. We aim to serve disproportionately marginalized community members who may be at highest risk of harm. The HUD Point in Time Survey (2022) found that the Catchment Area’s homeless population is 26.1% white (non-Hispanic/Latino), 31.6% Hispanic/Latino, 36.6% Black/African American, 2% Asian, non-Hispanic/Latino. TIEH will allow Case Managers (CM) and a Clinician to conduct persistent outreach and intensive case management necessary to engage and retain clients in CPNJ and partners comprehensive array of SMI, SED/COD clinical, primary health, recovery supports as well as housing and eligibility assistance. The proposed program will be staffed by a Project Director, Project Evaluator, 2 FTE BA-level CMs, a Clinician, Prescriber, and an Administrative Assistant. TIEH will serve a total of 285 unduplicated individuals over the project period. In year 1, 45 unduplicated individuals will be served, and in years 2-5, 60 unduplicated individuals will be served each year. Project Goal: Expand community-based outreach and ongoing intensive case management and clinical services to connect the POF to CPNJ and partners comprehensive array of clinical, primary health, housing and eligibility assistance. Obj 1: By the end of month 3 of year 1, hire 2 CMs and 1 Clinician trained in project evidence-based practices (EBPs) who will provide consistent contact to 100% of individuals served from initial contact through stable recovery and housing. Obj 2: By month 12 of year 1, CMs conduct outreach at 10 community service/shelter sites and encampments, offering assistance with basic needs to 100 % of individuals contacted. Obj 3: By month 4 of year 1, CMs will begin outreach twice per month to individuals in the County Jail identified as homeless upon release who also have SMI/SED/COD needs; 50% will receive CM and Clinical services immediately upon release to prevent loss to care. Obj 4: By month 12 of year 1, CMs screen 45 individuals where they are in the community utilizing validated instruments; facilitate clinical assessment for 75% of those screened; assist 100% of those assessed in developing an individual recovery plan that outlines services, benchmarks and responsible staff for all domains, including housing; and accompany each individual through the care planning and service delivery, especially attending to transitions with 80 % of individuals retained in treatment after 6 months. Obj 5: Within 24 hours of initial contact 100% of individuals served will be linked to clinical services (i.e. psychotherapy or medication management). Obj 6: 100 % of Individualized Service Plans will reflect project EBPs such as Motivational Interviewing and Integrated Treatment for Co-Occurring Disorders, recovery-oriented services and access to primary health care through CPNJ or community partners. Obj 7: CMs will provide direct support to 100% individuals served in applying for financial benefits, e.g., Medicaid, SSI/SSD, GA/TANF, SNAP. Obj 8: 100% of individuals served will receive direct assistance in establishing eligibility for housing resources including placement on the Bergen CoC HPL; 100 % will be assisted in securing emergency shelter as needed, and 25% of individuals served will enter permanent housing. Obj 9: To ensure that the project is meeting goals and addressing disparities, by month 4 of year 1 enlist a culturally/linguistically diverse Steering Committee whose findings are reviewed by CPNJ leadership.

This application to SAMHSA by the Kentucky Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities (KDBHDID) is in response to SAMHSA announcement SM-23-006, Treatment for individuals with Serious Mental Illness, Serious Emotional Disturbance, or Co-Occurring Disorders Experiencing Homelessness (TIEH). Individuals experiencing chronic homelessness and veterans experiencing homelessness roam the streets of most major cities. Louisville, Lexington, Bowling Green, and the Cincinnati metro areas are no exception. Many of these persons are likely to have a severe mental illness or a substance use disorder, but often go undiagnosed and untreated. At the last homeless point in time survey 3,984 were counted on a single cold Kentucky day in 2022. These individuals experiencing homelessness are old, young, male, female, sick, poor, LGTBQIA+ and all races. TEAM SOAR represents hope for these individuals because it is a multifaceted approach using the latest evidence-based practices to help individuals experiencing chronic homelessness and veterans experiencing homelessness get housing and keep it. The KDBHDID proposes to use a combination of evidence-based practices: Motivational Interviewing, Trauma Informed Care, Screening, Person Centered Recovery Planning, the Harm Reduction Model, and SSI/SSDI Outreach Access and Recovery (SOAR) to attain the goal of reducing homelessness for those with SMI, SED, or COD. Partnering with Seven Counties Services (SCS) an intensive mental health outreach team will work to seek out unsheltered individuals experiencing homelessness in the Louisville area (this team will be known as TEAM SOAR). Working with the existing PATH mental health outreach teams, Youth Homeless Demonstration Program (YHDP), and community-based care givers, individuals experiencing homelessness will be linked to housing, mental health, and addiction treatment. TEAM SOAR will engage in providing services to 25% of the unsheltered individuals throughout the course of each year of the grant in the Louisville Metro/Jefferson County area. (The 2023 preliminary street count for the Louisville Metro area indicates there are currently 553 individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness).

Treatment for Individuals with Serious Mental Illness, Serious Emotional Disturbance, or Co-Occurring Disorders Experiencing Homelessness (FOA) No. SM-23-006 (CFDA) No.: 93.243 PROJECT ABSTRACT The Sundari Foundation, Inc. offers the Lotus House Mental Health Treatment for Homeless Women, Youth and Children project to screen 700 unduplicated women and youth experiencing homelessness and assist 350 diagnosed with Serious Mental Illness, Serious Emotional Disturbance or Co-Occurring Disorders in Miami-Dade County, FL with behavioral and/or mental health services annually. Over the 5 year grant period, 1,750 will receive services. The Miami-Dade Homeless Trust will provide referrals via the CoC Coordinated Entry system as well as referrals for public housing and other permanent housing programs. Citrus Health Network, a licensed behavioral/mental health provider will collaborate, offering psychiatric evaluations and outpatient treatment, including medications, all free of charge onsite. Lotus House will provide targeted, intensive case management to access comprehensive support services. Evidence-based Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Seeking Safety groups are provided onsite to build resilience and mental wellness. Lotus House Women’s Shelter provided shelter and comprehensive services to 1,411 women, youth and children experiencing homelessness in 2022. 67% are African American/Black and 32% White and of these 37% are Hispanic. 10% identify as LBTQIA+. 40% have substance use histories and/or test positive at intake. Most have unmet medical, dental and optical needs. 87% have disabilities. 100% live well below the poverty line. 34% do not have a high school diploma and 77% are unemployed at intake. Almost 1 in 4 have no health insurance. 94% of women and youth had histories of trauma and/or abuse: 92% experienced or witnessed domestic violence; 35% experienced childhood sexual abuse/assault; 34% experienced childhood physical abuse/neglect; 40% physical assault as adult; 22% sexual assault as an adult. In 2022, we assessed 394 children for developmental functioning, trauma histories, social, emotional and behavioral health and parent-child interaction. 63% of our children evidenced clinical need in at least one area. Project Goal 1: Provide access to mental health treatment - 100% of 700 individuals will receive screening assessments by licensed Lotus House staff. -100% of 350 individuals screened with SMI, SED, COD will be linked to our collaborative licensed provider or equivalent for further assessment. -100% will be offered any needed prescriptions for medication from our collaborative licensed provider or equivalent. 100% will be offered treatment and follow-up treatment when needed, on an outpatient basis, by our collaborative licensed provider or equivalent. 60% improve PCL-5 score pre/post. 70% will exit with a mental health home and receive an exit resource guide. Goal 2: Case Management and Support Services - 100% of those assessed with SMI, SED, COD will be offered intensive case management (including links to employment/education, access to public benefits, mental health counseling, housing advocacy) coordinated by our qualified Resource Coordinators based on needs assessed in their action plans.100% will be offered evidence-based counseling by our in-house licensed counselors. Goal 3: Assist in Accessing Permanent Housing - 70% of those assessed with SMI, SED, COD will exit to permanent housing. Miami-Dade County is home to the largest percentage of people with serious mental illnesses of any urban community in the United States. It has been estimated that 9.1% of the population experience serious mental illnesses, yet only 1% receive treatment in the state funded community mental health system. Rates of serious mental illnesses are two to three times the national average, but per capita state spending for community-based treatment ranks 49th nationally. https://www.nasmhpd.org/site

Last year, 7,832 people in Connecticut experienced homelessness. Fairfield County residents—the catchment area for this project—represented more than 20% of the state’s total homeless population. The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic remains acute across the state, with a 39% increase in people experiencing homelessness from 2021 to 2022. Using the evidence-based Housing First model, Danbury Hospital proposes to implement the project, ‘Housing First: Increasing Access to Behavioral Healthcare for Unhoused Populations,’ aimed at increasing access to comprehensive, coordinated, culturally competent and evidence-based services for individuals and families with a serious mental illness (SMI), serious emotional disturbance (SED), or co-occurring disorders (COD) to improve individuals’ ability to qualify for and sustain safe, permanent housing. Danbury Hospital will serve as the lead applicant and originating site for the project. Established in 1885, Danbury Hospital in Danbury, CT is a not-for-profit, 456-bed community teaching hospital providing care to over 350,000 residents of western Connecticut and neighboring New York State. Danbury Hospital is part of Nuvance Health, a non-profit health system serving more than 1.5 million people across western Connecticut and New York’s mid-Hudson Valley through seven hospitals and a network of community medical practices, outpatient centers, and affiliated health entities. The geographic area targeted by this proposal includes the Greater Danbury area of Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County, Danbury covers 44.3 square miles and is home to 85,759 residents. It is the seventh largest city in Connecticut and the 10th most diverse city in the United States. The prevalence of homelessness varies by race, with minorities (39% of Danbury’s population) disproportionately impacted by homelessness and African Americans (10% of Danbury’s population) experiencing the highest rates of sheltered homelessness. As a result, the priority population for this project will be minority and immigrant communities. Project services will focus on homeless individuals with SMI, SED, and/or COD such as substance use disorders (SUD) who are 18 years and over and who reside in and/or seek healthcare and community services in the Greater Danbury Area. Activities to be implemented through this project include integration of the Housing First model into the continuum of care for individuals in the priority population; incorporation of screening tools to identify individuals who could benefit in project enrollment; providing assistance to enroll eligible individuals in health insurance, Medicaid, and other mainstream benefits; and enhancing access to behavioral health services, substance abuse treatment and recovery, case management, and supportive housing through the establishment of formal partnerships with community-based organizations who are experts in providing services to marginalized populations. The project will also work to provide linkage to and support engagement with recovery support services to improve access to and retention in services and to continue treatment gains; assist with identifying sustainable permanent housing; and connecting individuals in crisis who are experiencing homelessness to services and housing. Projected outcomes include resolution or successful management of behavioral health diagnoses; substance use recovery and sobriety; improved employability; housing stability; and resulting improvements to quality of life for project participants.

Catholic Charities, Diocese of St. Petersburg proposes to implement a comprehensive, coordinated and evidenced-based services program, entitled “Pathways to Mental Health”, to support the integration of behavioral health treatment and services, permanent housing and critical services for individuals, youth, and families with a serious mental illness (SMI), serious emotional disturbance (SED) or co-occurring disorder (COD) who are experiencing homelessness or at imminent risk of homelessness. This application requests $455,155 Y1 with a total of five years being $2,377,992. The purpose of the proposed program is to provide a community based program to support those individuals that have lived on the streets or a place not meant for human habitat for over one year or three episodes in a four year period and have substance use disorders, serious mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, or co-occurring mental and substance use disorders. The program is a means of empowering consumers to take control of their own recovery; provided a safe place where individual receive respect, encouragement, and hope that supports and strengthens their recovery with mental illness, addiction and / or trauma. The program will: 1) engage and connect the population of focus to behavioral health treatment, case management, and recovery support services; 2) assist with identifying sustainable permanent housing by collaborating with homeless services organizations and housing providers, including public housing agencies; and 3) Provide case management that includes care coordination/service delivery planning and other strategies that support stability across services and housing transitions. Participants are identified through the homeless services intake system and prioritized through the needs assessment and severity ranking system incorporated into five county’s Homeless Management Information System. This program will serve 400 individuals annually who are homeless or chronically homeless on the path to housing. The program participants will be engaged in participating in developing and implementing their own Wellness Recovery Action Plan, linkages to health care and receive mental health treatment. The individual will be engaged for 6 months or more as program participant and/ or volunteers. The program is a community-driven resource that will promote recovery, increase independence, and encourage community inclusion for persons with co-occurring disorders through education, consumer-run programming, support, and empowerment. CCDOSP serves as grant administrator and provider. Data collection, independent evaluation and mandatory contract reporting functions are accomplished through contracted evaluation services.